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Cruise Packing Mistakes You Should Avoid. And Why
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Jan 28, 2025
The worst packing mistakes that I see cruise passengers make and cruise packing mistakes to avoid as they could get you into trouble, have you disembarked, affect enjoyment of your cruise or items confiscated. ABOUT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS: If you want to get cruising right, Tips For Travellers makes it easy to plan and have the incredible cruise experiences you dream of every time. All my Tips For Travellers advice, tips and tricks tips draw on everything that I have learnt on the 91 cruises I have done to date. Links mentioned in the video: - My Cruise Packing list: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/packing - Carnival Banned List: https://www.carnival.com/help - Royal Caribbean Banned List: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/gbr/en/faq/questions/prohibited-items-onboard-policy - Norwegian Cruise Line Banned List: https://www.ncl.com/uk/en/prohibited-items - MSC Cruises Banned List: https://www.msccruisesusa.com/manage-booking/before-you-go/luggage - Princess Cruises Banned List: https://www.princess.com/learn/faq/pre-cruise/what-to-pack-for-a-cruise/ - Holland America Banned List: https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/faq.html - Celebrity Cruises Banned List: https://www.celebritycruises.com/gb/faqs/all-faqs - Disney Cruises Banned List: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faq/prohibited-items/list/ BUY MY CRUISE-THEMED T-SHIRTs ————————————————- * Check out my T-Shirt range: http://bit.ly/TFTStore
View Video Transcript
0:00
roger and sue clark two 70 year old
0:02
cruise passengers from england were
0:04
sentenced to eight years in a portuguese
0:07
prison due to some poor cruise packing
0:09
choices as you're about to discover they
0:11
by the way haven't been the only ones to
0:14
fall for this fate welcome aboard i'm
0:17
gary bembridge and i'm going to show you
0:19
how to avoid making packing mistakes
0:21
with really unpleasant outcomes or at
0:23
least help you avoid those that will put
0:27
a major dampener on your cruise packing
0:30
illegal drugs is obviously a mistake and
0:32
forbidden however you may do it without
0:35
realizing as friends of mine did
0:38
some passengers have tried to use a
0:40
cruise to smuggle large quantities of
0:43
drugs for profit the clerks i mentioned
0:46
had cocaine with a street value of
0:48
almost one and a half million dollars in
0:51
their suitcases on their cruise from the
0:53
caribbean to europe as i was preparing
0:55
this 27 year old passenger on holland
0:58
america zada dam was arrested in french
1:00
polynesia with metaphetamine meth in his
1:04
suitcase worth millions and millions of
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dollars now while you may not be trying
1:08
to smuggle large quantities even
1:10
recreational drugs for self-use are
1:12
banned and lines will hand you over to
1:15
the local authorities all lines i've
1:17
checked with do not allow any cbd
1:19
products or cannabis marijuana even if
1:22
it's legal where you're selling from or
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to however it hadn't crossed my mind
1:27
that some over-the-counter and
1:29
prescription drugs that we freely use in
1:31
the us uk canada and so on are actually
1:35
illegal in several cruise destinations
1:37
now i discovered this on a queen mary 2
1:39
cruise to dubai
1:41
where many of these everyday drugs are
1:43
illegal including
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anything with codeine even household
1:47
products like tylenol arthritis pain
1:50
capulets are actually banned there
1:52
prescription tranquilizers
1:54
antidepressants some sleeping pills are
1:57
too so things like xanax valium tramadol
2:01
when friends of mine cruised to japan
2:03
they hit issues there they found some
2:05
inhalers allergy and sinus medications
2:08
are illegal in japan products with
2:10
codeine are also prohibited and even
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brands like actifed sudafed and vicks
2:14
inhalers that they had packed were
2:16
actually illegal so when packing for
2:19
your crews especially beyond north
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america and europe check if you can take
2:24
your prescription or even
2:25
over-the-counter drugs into that country
2:27
particularly if you're disembarking
2:29
there and going to be entering the
2:31
country with your baggage with my
2:32
prescription drugs i keep them in the
2:34
original packaging and i take a copy of
2:36
the prescription or a letter from my
2:39
doctor i also check how many
2:41
prescription drugs i'm allowed to take
2:43
into the country because some also
2:45
restrict how much you can bring in a
2:46
mistake that could see refused boarding
2:50
emerged post curved shutdown that i also
2:52
want to talk about if you've not packed
2:54
whatever the current boarding protocol
2:57
documents which could be proof of
2:58
vaccine test results insurance and so on
3:01
you will be turned away so while drugs
3:04
and lack of documents can get you into
3:06
big trouble there's actually many many
3:08
items that while you won't get into as
3:10
deeper trouble
3:11
are likely to get you a strong turning
3:13
off and be confiscated as i discovered
3:17
the most common item to be confiscated
3:19
are extension cords cruise lines will
3:22
not allow extension cords with surge
3:24
protectors and that's because of how the
3:26
electricity systems work on board if you
3:29
do want an extension cord to charge all
3:31
your devices do what i do and pack a
3:33
multi-port plug adapter instead or if
3:36
you are going to bring an extension cord
3:38
make sure it has no surge protector
3:40
another common item confiscated is
3:42
anything with heating elements the
3:44
exception on most cruise lines by the
3:45
way is a hair dryer or curling tongs
3:47
however
3:48
anything else with a heating element you
3:50
can't bring that includes kettles
3:53
coffee makers hot plates heated blankets
3:56
and even baby bottle sterilizers and
3:58
warmers even on disney cruise line you
4:01
have to work with your cabin steward if
4:03
you need to do things like heating baby
4:04
bottles fire
4:06
is the biggest fear at sea and so
4:08
anything with a naked flame is also
4:10
banned lines for example they use those
4:12
little battery-powered candles you'll
4:14
see in their restaurants so leave actual
4:16
candles and incense burners at home
4:19
another common packing mistake is
4:20
alcohol each cruise line has their own
4:23
rule on how much alcohol and even soft
4:25
drinks that you can pack in your luggage
4:27
and bring on board they will confiscate
4:30
any excess including anything that you
4:32
buy in port they normally though do
4:34
return it at the end of the cruise so
4:36
for example on royal caribbean you can't
4:38
pack any beer or spirits and you can
4:41
bring two bottles of wine or champagne
4:44
per cabin norwegian cruise line on the
4:46
other hand has no limit on the number of
4:48
bottles of wine and champagne you can
4:50
bring to drink in your cabin anything
4:53
that can be launched off the ship is
4:55
also forbidden and that again will be
4:58
confiscated so this includes things like
5:00
kites fireworks balloons remote control
5:04
planes and drones at the time of
5:06
recording only royal caribbean
5:09
and carnival cruise line allow any of us
5:11
passengers to pack a drone requiring it
5:13
to only be used in certain approved
5:15
ports now i've been trying for ages to
5:18
get more lines to let me bring a drone
5:20
on board but having had it confiscated
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quite a few times i've given up don't
5:24
pack actual weapons or ammunition like
5:27
guns and knives over four inches long
5:29
but also don't pack anything that looks
5:32
like it could be used as a weapon if you
5:35
want to bring sports equipment like a
5:37
baseball or cricket bat check if they're
5:40
on the cruise line prohibited list as
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often they are not and they're
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confiscated on boarding many
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self-defense items are also banned like
5:49
pepper spray if you're planning to bring
5:51
on board any kind of party costume or
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fancy dress as you call in the uk be
5:56
very cautious about the accessories you
5:58
pack for that costume if you pack
6:00
handcuffs a truncheon or even a plastic
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gun to use as part of a say a policeman
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outfit those will all be confiscated
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there are actually more weird rules and
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packing mistakes about fancy dress
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costumes coming later by the way another
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area you may fall far of is if you plan
6:18
to decorate your cabin door now most
6:20
cruise lines other than norwegian cruise
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line at the time of recording do allow
6:24
you to do this
6:26
if you use anti-flammable decorations
6:29
not those just sprayed with
6:30
anti-flammable materials they must
6:32
either be magnetic or not require any
6:35
tape to attach the door if your door
6:37
decorations don't again they will be
6:39
confiscated devices to zoom around the
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ship are also prohibited so these
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include things like those trendy
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electric scooters
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electric parts skateboards and even
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shoes with wheels are banned on pretty
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much every single cruise line now of
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course mobility scooters they are
6:54
allowed but they have different
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requirements by line so check if your
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particular mobility scooter is allowed
7:00
some lines will allow folding bikes and
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traditional skateboards but often they
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have restrictions on where they can be
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stored so for example you might have to
7:07
leave them with security and only get
7:09
them when you head out in a port when it
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comes to self-entertainment items you
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can bring some of these on board but if
7:16
you misuse them again they'll be
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confiscated most lines allow musical
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instruments however you can only play
7:21
them within your cabin not out on your
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balcony and in the public areas and if
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they get complaints about your playing
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it'll be confiscated and removed you can
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also by the way pack and bring wireless
7:34
speakers but again you can only use them
7:36
in your cabin if you use them out on the
7:37
balcony or in public areas like the pool
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you'll get into trouble and again
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they'll take them away you can't by the
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way pack game consoles like xbox and
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nintendo to plug into the television
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again they'll take them away when your
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baggage is screened now most lines
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actually say that their televisions have
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been disabled to not allow you to plug
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those in but i haven't checked that
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while all of these are items that are
8:00
likely to get you telling off and be
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confiscated there are still other
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packing mistakes that while they may not
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get you into trouble could have a big
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downer effect on your cruise again
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as i found out not traveling and packing
8:14
a passport particularly if you're
8:16
cruising in the caribbean out of the us
8:18
a where it's possible is in my view a
8:21
big packing mistake this was brought
8:23
home to almost 4 000 norwegian escape
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guests on a caribbean cruise out of port
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canaveral florida when the ship grounded
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leaving the dominican republic and they
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all had to disembark to be flown home it
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became an absolute nightmare for many of
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those who had not packed a passport it
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required much longer delays because the
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u.s embassy had to try and process
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temporary ones so they could get home
8:48
don't make the mistake of packing
8:50
valuable or sentimental items in your
8:52
check-in bags either cruise lines prefer
8:55
check-in bags to be unlocked to enable
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them when you check them in because if
8:59
they identify any contraband or
9:01
suspicious items it makes it easy for
9:03
them to check your bags it does mean if
9:04
you have anything valuable you're at
9:06
risk because they take no responsibility
9:09
and will not compensate you for any lost
9:12
or damaged items i got a message
9:13
recently from a passenger who was
9:15
adamant that their costly drone had
9:18
disappeared from the check-in bags on a
9:20
carnival cruise because they were
9:21
allowed to bring them he had no recourse
9:23
with the cruise line who actually
9:25
completely denied it and refused to even
9:28
discuss any form of compensation so when
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i go and bought a cruise i have
9:32
everything that is of value to me
9:34
in my carry-on money passports
9:36
medication laptop and in my case my
9:39
cameras but maybe whatever it is for you
9:41
although it's the topic of a whole video
9:44
there are a couple of clothes packing
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mistakes that i just want to highlight
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here first of all
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not paying attention to the dress code
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and that will cause problems on board
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because for example you're going cunard
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and you need a jacket even on cattle
9:58
nights for example secondly packing
10:00
clothes that are not allowed in any
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country you're cruising to for example
10:04
some caribbean islands do not allow
10:07
passengers or in fact residents to wear
10:10
camouflage clothes in others for example
10:12
you have to cover your shoulders and
10:13
your knees fully to be able to visit
10:15
some of the sites the third area is not
10:18
bringing the right outfits for any theme
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nights and ending up missing out so i
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made a mistake for example on my last
10:25
azamara cruise by not packing white
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clothes and i felt really left out and
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really stood out because i was literally
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the only person not in white on the
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white night party event
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be very careful by the way before
10:37
packing any of those fancy dressed party
10:40
costumes some cruise lines like pinot
10:41
cruises banned them reportedly after a
10:44
punch-up erupted on one of the ships
10:46
over in an inappropriate clown costume
10:48
but anyway risque costumes outfits with
10:50
rude political or obscene slogans are
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going to be banned on all cruise
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websites they have a list of bad items
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but they differ line by line so you need
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to check the one for your line now in
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the notes of the video i've made a link
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to the main lines lists to help in
11:06
reality the best way of not making a
11:07
packing mistake is if you have any doubt
11:09
leave it out now if you want to know
11:11
more packing tips watch this video of 21
11:14
unusual but essential things to pack
11:16
including the one thing that i never
11:18
thought i'd ever use on a cruise but i
11:20
now use every single time see you over
11:23
there
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